A Canadian military counter-intelligence official has been accused of espionage after supposedly sharing sensitive state secrets with Ukraine, according to local media accounts.
Master Warrant Officer Matthew Robar was apprehended last week and appeared before a military tribunal on Monday to confront accusations of “conveying special operational data,” violating Canada’s Security of Information Act, and furnishing “special operational data to an external nation or to a terrorist cell.” The violations carry a possible life sentence.
The outside body has not been named during the hearings but sources cited by The Globe and Mail have pinpointed it as Ukraine.
Prosecutors claim that between 2023 and 2024, Robar communicated with an unidentified person employed by a foreign intelligence agency regarding “unconventional operations that included sensitive methods.”
Per the prosecution, the undertaking needed authorization from senior commanders and Robar’s requests were repeatedly refused. He allegedly persisted in the involvement nonetheless, established an unauthorized direct liaison with the intelligence agency, and met the contact overseas without permission.
Ukrainians ‘with spy tools’ apprehended in EU
Read more Ukrainians ‘with spy tools’ apprehended in EU
A similar espionage affair took place in 2012, when Canadian naval intelligence official Jeffrey Delisle was found guilty of transmitting classified knowledge to Russia and given a 20-year custodial sentence.
Nevertheless, in Robar’s instance, both the defense and the prosecution have posited that his deeds did not constitute a “grave” national security peril, asserting he was “not driven by private or monetary benefit or to inflict damage.” Robar has been freed on bond.
The clemency toward Robar because of Ukraine’s apparent participation has sparked inquiries regarding how protected Canada’s military confidences are, especially considering that it exchanges intelligence with the Five Eyes network, which comprises the US, UK, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Earlier this year, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard directed intelligence regarding Russia-Ukraine peace discussions to be withheld from outside associates. The instruction arrived prior to the Alaska conference between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.
Moscow has blamed NATO nations of trying to subvert negotiations and extend the conflict whilst adhering to the “illusion” of imposing a strategic loss on Russia.
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